Opinion
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Principled MP a standout in bygone era

When you are frustrated with the state of politics today and hear someone say, “there were better people in the old days,” don’t discount that as just warmed-over sentimentality.

Take John Fisher Wood, from Farmersville or Athens, Ont., as it came to be called. He practised politics with principles and would not fall in line with his party if he felt it, or the leader of the party, for that matter, was wrong.

Wood was born in Addison, Upper Canada in the mid-1850s. He was educated at Farmersville, went into teaching for a short time and then went on to study law.

He had a successful law practice and in 1882 became the MP for Brockville. He held the seat for 17 years (with a slight and principled exception), until he died.

He was a no-nonsense representative of his riding.

He was made deputy Speaker of Parliament in 1890-91, chair of the railway and canal committee in 1892, and controller of customs.

That’s all pretty standard stuff for politicians of the day.

What wasn’t quite so standard, was how Wood acted on his convictions.

For example, Wood quit the government to protest the appointment of a new prime minister on the death of Sir John Sparrow David Thompson. Thompson became prime minister in 1892 but died in 1894. The Governor

General appointed a senator by the name of Sir Mackenzie Bowell, a fellow Conservative, as his replacement.

Bowell had a reputation as honest and hardworking (he made a trip to Australia on a trade mission in his 70s), but he was not the brightest bulb on the Conservative party tree. Wood, who had worked under Bowell and knew his limited abilities — as did almost anyone who knew Bowell — did not think he was the proper choice for prime minister.

Wood was among seven MPs (the others were William Ives, George Foster, John Haggart, Walter Montague, Sir Charles Tupper and Art Dickey) who were called a “nest of traitors” because they resigned from the new prime minister’s government on the reopening of Parliament.

Bowell quit at the end of the session and Sir Charles Tupper was appointed Bowell’s replacement.

Wood also tried to put a stop to politicians’ windbagging during debates. He felt Hansard, the official record of debates, was the root of the problem — politicians kept talking just to see their name and words in print.

Wood tried to end the record in 1885 and in 1892. He failed both times, but the second time, by only 40 votes. So, he wasn’t a voice in the wilderness.

Wood died in Toronto on March 14, 1899 of a heart attack. Two days later Parliament opened but the Liberal prime minister, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, had the House adjourn out of respect for both Wood and fellow MP Pierre-Malcolm Guay who also died during the recess.

Laurier said of Wood, a Conservative opponent: “He was very much respected by his opponents, and he was dearly beloved, I know, by his friends. His judicial mind, his temper, his character, were such that every one of us feels a sense of bereavement at his loss.”

On his death, newspapers papers across the country recalled Wood’s courtesy, even during heated debate, and his sense of fairness — qualities sometimes lacking in today’s politics.

— Tom Villemaire is a writer based in Toronto and the Bruce Peninsula. Tom@historylab.ca